Garden Bonfires 2015
Dear Exeter City Council,
Please could you tell me how many garden bonfires where reported to
you in 2015 (and per ward if possible), how many of these were
visited and how often were the people involved asked to put the
fire out.
Yours faithfully,
Alan Jones
Exeter
Thank you for your request for information. I will arrange for a response
to be issued as soon as possible. If you have any queries about the
progress of your request, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please note that information relating to schools, education, trading
standards, social care (e.g. care homes) and highways is held by Devon
County Council and your request should be re-directed to them. Their
contact details are as follows:
Information Compliance Manager
Strategic Intelligence
Room L10
County Hall
Topsham Road
Exeter
EX2 4QD
Telephone: 01392 384679
Email: [1][email address]
Kind regards
FOI Officer
for Corporate Manager, Policy, Communications and Community Engagement
Exeter City Council
Civic Centre
Exeter EX1 1JN
Tel: 01392 277888
email: [2][Exeter City Council request email]
References
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1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[Exeter City Council request email]
Dear Exeter City Council,
Please could you supply me with the information I requested about the frequency of bonfires (per ward) in 2015 on 9th February 2016.
I would also like you to carry out an Internal Review with regards to:
1. Why isn't this information, for the sake of transparency, available on your website at all times. And
2. Why do requests take 4 weeks to be processed when there have only been three requests made in the whole of February 2016?
Regards Alan Jones
Conservative Candidate Pennsylvania Ward May 2016 Election
Yours faithfully,
Alan Jones
Thank you for your request for information. I will arrange for a response
to be issued as soon as possible. If you have any queries about the
progress of your request, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please note that information relating to schools, education, trading
standards, social care (e.g. care homes) and highways is held by Devon
County Council and your request should be re-directed to them. Their
contact details are as follows:
Information Compliance Manager
Strategic Intelligence
Room L10
County Hall
Topsham Road
Exeter
EX2 4QD
Telephone: 01392 384679
Email: [1][email address]
Kind regards
FOI Officer
for Corporate Manager, Policy, Communications and Community Engagement
Exeter City Council
Civic Centre
Exeter EX1 1JN
Tel: 01392 277888
email: [2][Exeter City Council request email]
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[Exeter City Council request email]
Dear Mr Jones
I am sorry for the delay in responding to your request, but unfortunately
the information is collated by the Environmental Health Team direct who
are also busy investigating a large number of service requests that they
receive relating to their large remit.
In response to your request 46 reports of bonfires were received by the
service, of which 17 were able to be visited as they were reported as
taking place at the time. Upon investigation none of the complaints
received were found to be causing a statutory nuisance and therefore the
service had no grounds to request that any bonfire be extinguished.
Ward Total number of Number visited as
complaints they were reported
received as taking place at
the time
Alphington 6 0
Cowick 2 1
Duryard 4 4
Exwick 6 4
Heavitree 4 2
Mincinglake 4 1
Newtown 1 1
Pennsylvania 2 1
Pinhoe 4 1
Polsloe 3 0
Priory 5 0
St Davids 1 0
St Loyes 1 0
Whipton 3 2
Exeter City Council is committed to openness and transparency. If you
wish to request a review of either our decision, or the way your request
has been handled, please write to the Council's Corporate Manager at the
address below or email [Exeter City Council request email]. Your request will be considered
in line with our Review Procedure. Full details of this procedure,
including your right of appeal to the Information Commissioner, are
available on our website at [1]www.exeter.gov.uk/foi.
Kind regards
Policy Officer
Exeter City Council
Civic Centre
Exeter EX1 1JN
Dear Betts, Lorraine,
I too am sorry things are taking too long and I'm sorry that my questions are not being answered. I asked for an internal review - is this happening?
I am very disappointed by ECC's attitude to bonfires which are a serious health issue. I find their approach to bonfires as very lax. And why isn't this information readily available ie why does it take four weeks?
I'm not sure what Alphington 6 0 and Cowick 2 1 mean? Is this 60 bonfires or 6?
If you are not able to supply me with this information please could you pass this email to some one who can.
I wonder am I being fobbed off!
c/c Councillor Peter Holland
Yours sincerely,
Alan Jones
Conservative candidate Pennsylvania Ward May Election 2016
Dear Mr Jones
The email included a table. The first column showed the total number of complaints received and the second column showed the number visited as they were reported as taking place at the time. I attach a copy of the table in a word document for ease of reference.
I can confirm that an internal review is being undertaken. We have 20 working days to respond to your request for an internal review.
Kind regards
Lorraine
Dear Mr Jones
Thank you for your request for an internal review. In response to the
points you raise, I can confirm the following:
1. Under the Local Government Transparency Code 2014, the Council is
obliged to publish the following information:
o Expenditure exceeding £250
o Transactions on a procurement card
o Contracts over £5000
o Any legally enforceable agreement over £5000
o All land and building assets excluding housing
o Grants to voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations
o Senior management structure chart information
o Trade union facility time
o Income and expenditure on the authority’s parking account
o Constitution
o Pay multiple
o Counter fraud work
o Waste contracts
Under the Freedom of Information Act we are also obliged to publish the
following:
o Who we are and what we do
o What we spend and how we spend it
o What our priorities are and how we are doing
o How we make decisions
o Our policies and procedures
o Lists and registers
o The services we offer
I have consulted our Environmental Health team to see whether it is
possible to publish details of the frequency of bonfires per ward.
Unfortunately, due to the significant demands placed on the service, it is
not possible to comply with your request to publish the information.
2. During February 2016, the Council received and processed 50 Freedom of
Information Requests, of which 3 were received via the What Do They Know
website. Some of these requests are complex and time consuming and so it
does, usually, take the full amount of time to process them. As you will
be aware, the Freedom of Information Act allows 20 working days to issue a
response to a request for information.
If you are dissatisfied with my response, you may refer the matter to the
Information Commissioner’s Office for determination. The contact details
are:
The Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 08456 306060
Email: [1][email address]
Yours sincerely
Bruce Luxton
Corporate Manager
Policy, Communications and Community Engagement
[2]We are proud to support Exeter City Futures
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Disclaimer: [3]http://www.exeter.gov.uk/disclaimer
References
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1. mailto:[email address]
3. http://www.exeter.gov.uk/disclaimer
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